Liverpool didn’t bring in another attacker this summer, but they have almost been encouraged to make a move for Genk hitman Paul Onuachu.
It’s not often you see a club actively tell Liverpool – or anyone else for that matter – to come and sign one of their players.
That’s exactly what has happened with Genk though, as they have been talking up the possibility of selling striker Onuachu to Liverpool.
Genk sporting director Dimitri de Conde suggested last week that Onuachu is exactly what Liverpool need and he would have scored against Chelsea in the 1-1 draw at Anfield.
De Conde was claiming that Liverpool need a target man, and 6ft 7in giant Onuachu was suggested as the ideal player to give the Reds a new dimension.
Onuachu was a goal machine last season, smashing 35 goals in 41 games for Genk, meaning he absolutely knows where the net is – and the suggestion may not be all that bizarre.
Yes, the Nigerian is 27 and doesn’t exactly fit the usual profile of a Michael Edwards target, but the stats support De Conde’s argument.
The official Premier League website shows that Liverpool have crossed the ball a massive 93 times in their first three Premier League games – 31 a game!
Additionally, they finished clear at the top of those rankings last season with a whopping 862 crosses.
Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are just so good at getting balls into the box that it’s no great shock to see Liverpool using them massively.
Onuachu absolutely feasts on crosses into the box and could give Klopp a dangerous option to get on the end of balls in to the box – especially against deep blocks like Chelsea used at Anfield with 10 men.
Are Liverpool likely to go for Onuachu? Probably not, but going for another similar type of sticker – a target man with great aerial ability – does make sense.
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